cravings

Today is my dad's birthday (happy birthday dad...and Caroline too!). As a birthday treat, and I think he does this every year, he cooked scones for his office. Lucky them. Not English scones, but the good kind. You know, the kind fried in vegetable oil and (if you know what's good for you) dipped in butter and maple syrup (NOT from a bottle). To make these even more special, he only cooks them on certain holidays...Memorial Day, Pioneer Day (or is it the 4th of July), his birthday, and sometimes when I can convince him to make them when I come visit, which is DEFINITELY a special occasion. They are DIVINE. If you are anywhere near my house on those holidays, do yourself a favor and stop in for one. You won't regret it.

Scones aren't the only thing he's known for in the kitchen. As far back in time as I can remember (but not so much anymore), my dad got up early every Saturday morning to cook us pancakes or waffles. Now, bisquick is a naughty word in my house. Our (er...his) batter is made from scratch, down to grinding the wheat, or preparing the starter for the sourdough variety. When I was younger I remember taking a huge sourdough pancake, spreading it with peanut butter and cool whip, rolling it up, and inhaling it in all its creamy, peanut buttery, melty goodness. Try it, you'll like it.

Lately I've been craving a good sourdough waffle, complete with pools of butter and homemade syrup. I've been to O-HOP, I-HOP, Silver Diner, you name it, but nothing comes even remotely close to being as delicious as my dads. When I mentioned to him today how badly I wanted one of his waffles, he said that he'd give me the recipe, under one condition. I have to be willing to make a sourdough start and keep it up by using it every two weeks. Considering I only step into the kitchen once every month or so, it might be a challenge, but I'm certainly going to try. So...who wants some waffles?! Come on over! Looks like I'll be making them this weekend.

Marathon pics

Marine Corp Marathon recap

I really only had one goal in mind for this race, to avoid getting picked up by the loser bus, and I succeeded! Five hours, fifty minutes and 13 seconds after I started, I finished my second marathon. This marathon was considerably different than last years; I spent last year laughing, chatting it up with Chloe and the runners around us, taking pictures , and this time around I didn't talk to anyone and spent all of my time focusing on putting one foot in front of the other (and it took me 9 minutes longer). Here are some of the things I remember from the race (a lot of it is a blur):

-Two woman relieving themselves right in front of the Spout Run Parkway sign (in full view of all of the runners). From this point forward, I will refer to that stretch of parkway as Squat (then) Run Parkway. Runners are gross sometimes

-The fog hovering above the Potomac and the Georgetown campus was amazing. All I could see of one building were the spires on top. Completely breathtaking.

-Running up the entire hill on Foxhall Rd (I think that's the name of the street). It was pretty steep and lots of people were walking it. It felt good to push my way up.

-I passed Teddy Roosevelt before mile 7. If you've ever been to a Nats game, you'll recognize him as one of the bobble head mascots. He had someone running with him so that he wouldn't run into parked cars.

-Oranges slices aren't quite as satisfying when they're frozen solid

-I started losing steam at about mile 12. I started my intervals at this point, running 5 minutes and walking 1 (sometimes more)

-My favorite sign:

Q: Why do your feet hurt so bad?
A: Because you're busy kicking so much ass!

-Drum bands and bagpipes should be mandatory on every race course

-The spectators and volunteers are angels. Special shout out to my personal angels (Erica, Troy, Katie, Courtney, Reed, Brian, Chris, Sharyn, Adam, Darin and everyone who cheered me on from home)

-I thought that the Marines shouting was kind of scary and intimidating, even when they were shouting encouraging things

-The 14th Street bridge was longer and lonelier than I ever imagined. It was even worse than Hains Point

-I beat the bridge!

-There were lines of spectators on Crystal Drive offering up treats such as gummy bears, gummy cola sticks, gummy hot dogs, cheese and peanut butter crackers, jelly beans and goldfish. I took some of everything.

-Crystal Drive was lovely to run on with their colored flags lining the streets and multi-colored crosswalks

-I passed my friend Holly as she was coming off the bridge. I called out her name but she was totally in the zone. Perhaps if I called out Marathon Bird (the title of her blog) instead, she would have looked up. You looked great out there!!

-Kermit the Frog finished ahead of me

-The final hill was a doozy. I made myself run...er shuffle up it and the rest of the way to the finish line. Those people who were able to sprint those last .2 miles are crazy (that includes you Rachel!!)

-Space blankets really do keep you warm, and when you have a sunburn and some chafing on your arm, the pain is pretty intense!

It was a good run...a hard run, but good all the same. I get to do it all over again in Richmond in three weeks. Yippee?

Thanks again to all of you for your support.

One last thing, are you curious to know what 26.2 miles sounds like? Here's my playlist, even though I can't even remember most of them playing. I added thoughts to the few songs that stuck out.

1. At Last - Etta James oh my heavens, how perfect is this? Well the song title anyway?! I had my iPod on shuffle, but I couldn't have picked a better song to listen to as I crossed the starting line, although it could also fit well for the finish line. Thank you marathon machine for being so AWESOME!
2. Viva la Vida - Coldplay
3. Viva! - Bond
4. Say it Right Away - Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland, vs. The Egg vs. Madonna
5. Chop Suey! - System of a Down
6. Only Time (Remix) - Enya
7. Ready to Go (US Mix) - Republica
8. Alala - CSS
9. 1234 - Bikini
10. Maneater - Nelly Furtado
11. Big Love Adagio - Bond
12. Big School - Hot Chip vs. Peter Gabriel
13. Exodus Damage (Alias Remix) - John Vanderslice
14. Scream - Timbaland
15. Dream Angus - Annie Lennox
16. More Than Words - Extreme
17. Belsunce Breakdown - Bouga
18. Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
19. How to Save a Life - The Fray
20. Human - The Killers
21. See You Again - Miley Cyrus
22. Strict Machine - Goldfrapp
23. Hunting for Witches - Bloc Party
24. Titleless Mashup - Mouloud & the Sonic Destruction
25. Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers
26. Apologize - OneRepublic
27. In My Arms (Bimbo Jones radio edit) - Plumb
28. Nude (Holy F*** remix) - Radiohead
29. Edgar - Modeselektor
30. Feel It - DJ Rap
31. I Kissed a Girl - Max Vernon
32. Naxalite - Asian Dub Foundation
33. Mercy - Duffy
34. Far Far - Yael Naim
35. LDN - Lily Allen
36. Pretend we're Alala - The Illuminoids vs. CSS
37. Still Losing Myself - Loo & Placido
38. Always a Woman To Me - Billy Joel
39. The Weather Episode - The Klaxons vs. Snoop Dogg (?)
40. Tonight - Basement Jaxx
41. I Still Remember - Bloc Party
42. The Star Spangled Banner - Bond this came on at a water stop with Marines lining each side of the course. and yes, I cried a little
43. Closer - Ne-Yo
44. Movement in Still Life - BT
45. All Through the Years - Erasure
46. Merry Happy - Kate Nash
47. In The Dark - Tiesto feat. Christian Burns
48. Electric Barbarella - Duran Duran
49. In a State - Mojib
50. Storms in Africa - Enya
51. Until it Talks - Coldplay vs. Metallica
52. XR2 - M.I.A.
53. Waiting Hare - Buckethead and Serj Tankian
54. The Blood of Cuchulainn - Boondock Saints Running on Constitution in a White House and Washington Monument sandwich. Awesome song with awesome energy.
55. In Love With You - Freestylers
56. Persistance of Memory - Afro Celt Sound System
57. Get Me Off - Basement Jaxx
58. Discipline - Nine Inch Nails
59. Colossus - Afro Celt Sound System
60. Twisted - FannyPack
61. IntenCity - ATB
62. Tarantula - Faithless
63. Speeding Cars - Imogen Heap
64. Red Tape - Agent Provocateur
65. Crushcrushcrush - Paramore
66. Eight Easy Steps - Alanis Morissette crossing the dreaded bridge!!! No loser bus for me!!!
67. American Boy Around the World - Daft Punk vs. Kanye West & Estelle
68. Kill Yourself - Timbaland
69. Superstylin' Groove Armada
70. Uptown Girl - Billy Joel
71. Do Your Thing - Basement Jaxx
72. Athena - DJ Tiesto
73. Dreaming - BT
74. Alberto Balsalm - Aphex Twin
75. Oh L'Amour - Erasure
76. Kingdom Come - Coldplay running alongside the Pentagon. Caught a glimpse of the Pentagon Memorial. Must go for a real visit soon.
77. Deboutonner - Modeselektor
78. Life Begin Again - Afro Celt Sound System
79. Thunderstruck - AC-DC
80. Spiders, Crocodiles & Kryptonite - Faithless
81. What You Gave Away (Alias Remix) - The One AM Radio

and for the grand finale (I actually had finished by then, but the song is quite fitting post race)

82. What Hurts the Most - Cascada ummm...that would be my back, upper thigh and calves...thank you for asking

19 hours and counting

Last night I got in my car and drove to my favorite (just outside) DC destination. The grass that I relax, read and eat sushi on has been covered by tents, bleachers and port-o-johns in preparation for the marathon. (the faint glow above the bright light is the carrillon). I think that that strip of grass is going to be even more meaningful to me tomorrow as I wander around it with a space blanket around my shoulders at the end of my 26.2 miles. Can't wait!!

I can't even tell you how much I have been looking forward to tomorrow, although you probably have an idea considering 99% of my posts the last few months have been about this race. I'm ready. I may have missed a few runs, and maybe I haven't been eating as well as I should, but I'm ready.

I'm off to the expo where I hope to catch a glimpse of Lieutenant Andy Baldwin. (yum!!)

Remember, if you'd like to track my run tomorrow, you can sign up to do so here. (you know you want to family!!!)

Fred's Team

While on my "most awesome run ever" last weekend I passed someone I recognized from my team at work. He didn't acknowledge me, so I thought it might be a case of mistaken identity. When I ran into him in the kitchen a few days later I asked him if by any chance he was running on the W&OD trail on Saturday. He surprised me by saying yes. It turns out he is training to run the New York marathon in a couple of weeks as a part of Fred's Team, which raises funds for cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where his young son undergoes treatments for pediatric neurblastoma, a stage IV cancer.

His community newspaper recently published an article about his running/fundraising efforts and I was struck by something he said. "I am aware my son may die every second of the day." I don't have children, but I can imagine how difficult it would be to have to stand aside, helpless, and watch your child suffer. He runs with the hope that there will one day be a cure, he raises funds so that day will soon arrive.

I know you don't know my co-worker, I mean, you may not even know me for heavens sake, but if you're looking for a good cause to support and have a few extra bucks lying around, maybe you could support this one. You can find his donation page here. Or, if you happen to be in New York on race day and you see Fred's Team running with their bright orange shirts on, be sure to give them a big shout out for all of their hard work and dedication for a good cause.

Why now?!

I woke up this morning with an ugly but infrequent cough and a tightness in my chest. Now my body is tired (which could very well be from my workout last night) and I feel hot (which could very well be from the *very cute* sweater I'm wearing today) and I fear I might be getting sick. Worst.timing.ever! Not running on Sunday is not an option. I had a big cup of OJ for breakfast and plan on getting some Zicam at lunch. I'm not going to run tonight and try to get to bed early to try to fight this thing off before it gets worse. Anyone else have any good tips and tricks?

Random facts

Erica tagged me to write 6 random things about myself. Here you go:

1. With Kenley from Project Runway as my inspiration, I've decided to try wearing red lipstick (MAC Dubonnet) all the time. I'm going on three days now and it makes me feel pretty and given the fact that I touch my face every other minute, more than a little self-conscious about getting stray lipstick on my cheeks, chin and teeth. We'll see how much longer I keep it up.

2. I really like rooms to be light. Even on the brightest day of the sunniest afternoon I will turn on my overhead light and lamp to compliment the light that comes from my three big windows.

3. I'm very shy (this surprises people) and having conversations with people kind of stress me out.

4. I am the most productive when I am listening to music. Silence and I aren't the best of friends when it comes to getting work done.

5. I just barely got my voter registration card (I had previously been registered in Maryland). I'm not really wowed by either candidate, so I've got a lot of research to do before election day if I want to make an educated and informed decision. (Unlike the last presidential election when I voted for the person who annoyed me less)

6. This is how I eat a banana: I take a bite, separate it into three sections in my mouth and then eat one section at a time

How's that for random (and quirky)?!

family...

If you ever find yourself on the U campus, could you look for this shirt (the one on the left, as modeled by Erica) and buy it for me? I promise I'll pay you back. I love it and want it.

GO UTES!!!

ps: Erica, you don't mind that I stole this picture do you?

Autumn tactics

I love autumn and I love this song.

Help!

iTunes isn't recognizing the marathon machine (or my shuffle for that matter), and I need to get my playlist ready for next weekend. Anyone know how to fix it???

eta: I figured it out. If this ever happens to you, try resetting your ipod and then connect it to your computer. Worked for me. I'm such a technological genius! ;)

Anne is...

If this is any indication of my obsession of Facebook, I spent my run this morning trying to decide what I should change my FB status to read when I got home. Here are some of the things I came up with:

Anne loves her new running shoes (they are seriously dreamy)

Anne just ran 8 miles without stopping (my average pace was just over 11 min/mile. a miracle!!!)

Anne wishes she could bottle up the scent of the W & OD Trail at mile 8.5 (I don't know what it is, some sort of wildflower, but it is lovely)

Anne can't wait until the race next Sunday (8 days to go!!!)

Anne didn't get any blisters today (another miracle!!!)

Anne is excited to eat all the carbs she wants for three days straight (gotta love carbo loading!)

Anne actually passed another runner today (and yet another miracle!!!)

I know, not very exciting; so I decided on this one:

Anne thinks the 5 cupcakes she had for dinner last night was actually a pretty good pre-run meal (this is no exaggeration)

And for fun, my playlist. It was exceptionally good today.
1. Boyz - M.I.A.
2. Nude (Holy F*** Remix) - Radiohead
3. Couleurs - M83
4. Wanna Be a Star (Walter on Salva on Meego Remix) - Walter Meego
5. Through the Fire and Flames - Dragonforce
6. IntenCity - ATB
7. The Dark Side of the Frog - Modeselektor
8. Just a Lil Bit - 50 Cent
9. The Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails
10. Flash Runner - Vangelis vs. Grandmaster Flash
11. Naxalite - Asian Dub Foundation
12. Insomnia - Electric President
13. L.E.S. Artiestes (XXXChange Remix) - Santogold
14. Halfway Love - Cedric Gervais
15. When Did Your Hear Go Missing - Rooney
16. Ramalama (Bang Bang) - Roisin Murphy
17. Apologize (feat. One Republic) - Timbaland
18. Relax Djinns - Mika vs. Djuma Soundsystem
19. Alala - CSS

Car talk

I've never really been a big fan of sports cars; way too flashy for my taste. That is until I saw one of these on the road...

It made my heart skip a beat...or two...

Baby Baby

While in Santa Fe, I stopped at many of the tables full of turquoise and silver jewelry offered by the members of the local Indian tribes. In addition to bolo ties and chunky turquoise necklaces, many of them offered little baby bracelets and cuffs. There is just something so sweet about a bracelet so small it seems a miracle that it would actually fit around a wrist. I fell in love with two of them, identical except for the texture of the tiny turquoise stone strung between a line of deep blue beads. With a pricetag of 6 bucks a pop, I couldn't resist. Nevermind that I don't know anyone who is having a baby girl any time soon...let alone two.

UNLESS...

A few weeks ago I got an email from my brother Tony. Attached was a little slideshow presentation explaining that in the springtime their little family of 4 will become a family of 6. That's right, Marti is having twins again! I couldn't be more excited. My little Indian bracelets might have a home soon enough!

*Insert "Chariots of Fire" theme song here*

My roommate Rachel is running Marine Corp with...er faster than...me, and we decided to try to drum up some race day support by sending out an evite. For those of you who don't live closeby but would like to read it (it was late and we were feeling especially funny) here goes:

Hey everyone! We are taking on the Marine Corps Marathon and we'd love to shoot dirty looks at your happy, smiling, non-running faces as we struggle to make it through the treacherous 26.2 mile course. (Rachel especially will need someone to pick her up off the pavement as she falls across the finish line and Anne will need to be supplied with Advil - or preferably stronger - pain meds throughout the run. Is anyone making a trip to Canada this weekend?) So, since church isn't until 2:30 in the afternoon for most of you, there's no better way to spend your Sunday morning than serving your fellow man. Or woman. The race starts at 8:00 am but we'll be shuffling along until around 12:30. (Or later in Anne's case - unless she gets swept up by the loser bus. Then she'll arrive at the finish line in style before even the Kenyans.) Check out the marine corps marathon website for all the details. If you're planning on coming you can sign up for runner alerts. You will be sent an email or text whenever we pass a 5K mark. This would be helpful if you want to be sure not to miss us as we pass by your favorite spot. When we've planned out our perfect race day outfit, we'll fill you in so you'll be able to spot us. But here's a teaser: Anne will be in her sexy little running skirt (gotta do something to compensate for the short hair) and Rachel will be in short shorts. (Yes, short shorts.) Be sure to bring sunglasses. Like we said, Rachel will be in short shorts. Feel free to make signs, bring beverages, cameras, chocolate, gift cards, Lortab, presents, balloons, Icy Hot, and anything else you think might enhance our marathon experience. And yours. But most of all, bring yourself.

If for some reason you live locally and you didn't receive it, but you would like to come, don't you fret, it is an open invitation. Please come, and bring your cow bells!!

I'm broken

I think I have tendinitis in my right foot. What is the freaking deal with my tendons? First my right knee, then my left, and now my foot? Don't they (the tendons of course) realize that it is soooo much easier to run when they're not bothering me? The good news is that running with tendinitis won't necessarily make it worse, as my orthopedist told me last year before St. George, it just won't get any better and it certainly won't be the most comfortable. So my plan for the next month is take it as easy as possible. Maybe walk instead of run during the week and just run my long runs on the weekend, ice them, stretch them (although I'm not exactly sure how to stretch out my foot tendon), take lots of Advil before, during and after my races and hope it all goes well. Ugh. Why can't my body just cooperate for once?!

Broken body aside, 13 days until marathon #2. Can't wait!!!

Oh...guess who will be at the Marine Corp marathon expo?! Lieutenant Andy Baldwin from The Bachelor. Yummy!!

Cloud Cult

I'm kind of in love with this song. There's something about strings in a non-classical genre that is just so unexpected and lovely. I'm a complete sucker for that!

irresistable

This washed out pastry goodness is the singlemost reason I hate sitting on the 5th floor. The dumb catering kitchen is right next to me and every single time I see that flaky apricot piece of heaven on the leftover breakfast tray (which is actually quite often) I have to eat it. (do you see how I'm holding it out in contempt and disgust?) I think one of those equates to about 5 pounds and I had two today. Time to ramp up my workouts to offset my 'habit'.

Where I spent my weekend

Santa Fe










Albuquerque






Thanks mom, Aunt Jo and Kristin for such a fun weekend!

Oh, and happy birthday my sister!